Professor Oliver Bandmann MD PhD

Research Interests

My research focuses on movement disorders, in particular Parkinson´s Disease (PD) but also Huntington´s Disease, Wilson Disease and dystonia.

Current Projects

The main areas of research within my group are as follows:

1. Mitochondrial dysfunction and compound screen with identification of neuroprotective compounds as candidates for disease-modifying treatment in Parkinson’s Disease:We were the first group worldwide to undertake detailed assessment of mitochondrial function and morphology in both parkin-mutant Parkinson’s Disease and LRRK2-G2019S mutant Parkinson’s Disease. We subsequently undertook the first compound screen in Parkinson’s Disease mutant patient tissue. 2000 drugs were assessed for their rescue effect on mitochondrial function. A clear mode of action (MOA) was identified for a group of compounds which includes the FDA-licensed drug ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).

Fig1. The image shows a fibroblast from a patient with Parkinson’s Disease due to mutations in the parkin gene. The fibroblast has been stained to show the mitochondria in the cell. We see increased branching and interconnectedness of the mitochondrial network in the fibroblasts from patients with parkin mutations compared to controls; this change in morphology of the mitochondria correlates with changes in function.

2. Zebrafish as a new vertebrate animal model for Parkinson’s Disease:We were the first group worldwide to establish a zebrafish model of familial Parkinson’s Disease at the MRC Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics (http://cdbg.shef.ac.uk/) . We subsequently demonstrated that Parkin-deficient zebrafish share key features with human parkin-mutant Parkinson’s Disease patients, namely mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of dopaminergic neurons. Most recently, we have identified up-regulation of TIGAR as novel mechanism leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and dopaminergic cell loss in PINK1 deficiency. Inhibition of TIGAR prevents loss of dopaminergic neurons by normalizing mitochondrial function. TIGAR is therefore a promising novel target for disease-modifying therapy in early onset Parkinson’s Disease.

3. Mitochondrial biomarkers in Parkinson’s Disease:We are currently undertaking a detailed assessment of mitochondrial function and morphology in patients with sporadic Parkinson’s Disease. This will hopefully allow to eventually identify those patients with Parkinson’s Disease who are most likely to benefit from medication with mitochondrial rescue drugs.

4. Huntington´s Disease (HD)We are recruiting patients for the EURO-HD REGISTRY study at our multidisciplinary Huntington’s Disease clinic. As part of this, we have been frequently recruiting patients for HD drug trials and other HD studies.

In close collaboration with the Wilson disease patient self-help group, we are currently establishing a UK-wide, interdisciplinary Wilson disease network. This network will hopefully allow us to develop national standards for the care of Wilson disease patients and facilitate future research projects.

Principal Funding Sources (current and recent)

Parkinson’s UK, the leading Parkinson’s Disease charity, is supporting several of our research projects.

For interested members of the public: Please have a look at this excellent, short animation to learn more about the work of Parkinson’s UK.

In addition, my research is supported by BBSRC/Lilly, the MRC and the University of Sheffield.